By Michael Smith (Veshengro)
Sometimes it feels like making the right, green choice is about making the more expensive choice. The higher prices demanded by some eco-options in grocery and clothing stores are enough to make even the most ardent greenie stray from the path.
In fact there is a veritable industry out there geared to making the most money from the green consumer. However, you do not need the latest green this or green that. Often they are but gimmicks.
Why buy a recycled product when, in fact, you can DIY the thing yourself for nothing, such as metal pencil bin(s) for the desk, etc., or glass storage jars. And yes, I have arrived at one of my pet peeves again, but never mind, eh?
Going green does not have to be expensive and neither should it be. Was it not, after all, the idea, when it all started really in the 1970s with the Hippies that we were saving money while saving the Earth? It was indeed and thus it should be.
However, obviously, as so often, the majority, even among the greenies, has abandoned the DIY principle and want everything produced for them. Also, enter the companies that try to sell us this or that green gadget and gimmick. And while I am at gimmicks let me just mention the once so heavily touted “Eco Button” for the PC. That was but one of those many green gimmicks and gadgets that we can all do well without and the Planet can too.
Is organic really better than just local and seasonal produce?
Organic, while it may, indeed, taste better, in the same way as homegrown veg taste better, have no greater nutritional benefit over non-organic and thus you need not spend your money on that.
However, if you want to do your part as to food and being green then east locally, seasonally vegetables and other and the box schemes and local farmers markets and farm shops are one answer here.
Furthermore, if you have some garden space grow your own. Get rid of the lawn, or at least most of it, and turn your garden over to edibles. They can look good too. The vegetable gardens of Versailles are an example for this.
If you want to grow more food than is possible at home then get an allotment or join a community garden scheme. Clandestine farming and gardening is also an option at times, and some other food can be had from the wild.
For some gardens, locals can volunteer their time in exchange for local produce.
Luckily, many small-scale farms are open to a trade: your sweat and labor for their fruits and vegetables. Oftentimes, organic, sustainable or pesticide-free farms can be short on staff and time and need the extra help.
The judicious use of large machinery and scant or non-existent application of synthetic pesticides and herbicides means these farms need more labor than a conventional farm. Volunteers can help weed beds, apply compost to rows, transplant starts and harvest crops (all after a few supervised training rounds, of course).
If the farm needs you, dust off the garden gloves, get out there and work for your vegetables! Nothing is ever really free, right?
Trade green skills
In the spirit of swapping, see if there are people in your neighborhood with whom you could trade your green skills and assets.
For example, are you a skillful composter? (Let’s face it, some of us have trouble with those heaping piles or lack the motivation to even try.) For the avid composter, offer a few neighbors the opportunity to drop off their compostable waste with you.
You gain because you get more material to heat up your pile, as well as more end product to apply to your lawn or garden. Your neighbors gain because they help reduce the amount of waste they send to the landfill, and any extra compost you have can be shared for your neighbor’s use.
Another possible swap: Get rid of that plethora of zucchini and other vegetables taking over your backyard garden by giving any extra you have to the family next door. Reduce your workload out in the sun with an exchange that the family’s teenager mow your lawn once a week. You reduce a trip for a lawn company, and you get a free service! Think about your green skills. How could you set up a trade?
Green Transportation: Go out on a bike
While in Britain and the USA going out by bicycle, and even shopping, going to school and to work, is not very common in other countries it is. We only need to look to the Netherlands or to Germany or Denmark.
There people go almost everywhere and anywhere using the bicycle, especially when it comes to the local area.
So going to the pub using the bike is common as is going to the local restaurant, the shops, the library, the park. At least for people in those countries mentioned above.
In Britain, though things are beginning to change, it is a case that if some people could use their car to go to the lavatory they would do so too.
One of the best things as to going out by bicycle is that you don't have to worry about money for fuel, about parking charges, and, should you really drink one or two over the limit you don't risk your license. You just walk and push the bike home. Please do not ride for, aside from endangering yourself and others, you could, in the UK at least, be charged with “being drunk in charge of a bicycle”.
Enjoy your own back yard
All too often we take environmentally and monetarily expensive trips only to leave our home states and country even though we have not even explored our very own back yard. Many people, in Britain for one, are more acquainted with places abroad than with their own county let alone the rest of England, Scotland, Wales and Ulster.
The tried and true vacation can be turned into the inexpensive staycation, helping you save money and the environment at the same time. Carpool with some friends and make an escape to the beach, the mountains or another close getaway. Or take the bike, yet again, with family, and go on a cycle tour, even a small one, to a park, to a river or wherever nice and outdoors.
Take the bus or the train and explore the sights of your local and not all that local area; stately homes, museums, beauty spots, seaside, or whatever. Go for a hike in some scenic area or just in a great forest.
Reuse your plastic grocery bags
We all do it every once in a while, and even I admit to it, and that forgetting to take our reusable grocery bags. But luckily we know how to reuse the plastic bags when they start to accumulate (doggie bag, trash liner, storage bag, you name it). Yet all that effort and attention on plastic grocery bags leads us to forget about other types of plastic bags: the freezer bag and the sandwich bag.
Typically used for items like sandwiches or leftovers, these bags receive little wear and tear and can be washed, dried and reused again and again. Using what you already have is technically free, right?
The same is true for the bags you have to use at the supermarkets and greengrocers and such to put your loose produce in. They can be reused very well for sandwiches and such like. And they are free; well, sort of. Because, like with glass jars and other packaging, you do pay for it, really, with the products.
Experiment with homemade cleaners
Our grandparents and great-grandparents did and they had clean homes too. You don't have to sanitize the place. No good for your immune system anyway.
When it comes to it we have to admit that some of the so-called “green” cleaning products at the store are rather expensive, even thoiugh they often include very basic and cheap ingredients. Seems that anything that gets the label “green” or “eco” immediately can generate a price hike of several hundred percent. But since you still have to clean, try making some cleaning supplies yourself from stuff that’s already in your kitchen.
Did you know some great ingredients for cleaners may already be in your kitchen?
Some basic, natural, cleaning agents are vinegar )and it does not really matter whether it is distilled vinegar or brewed vinegar, regardless what some books will tell you), baking soda, seltzer water and lemon juice.
With vinegar, mix with one part water to dilute, put in a spray bottle and test on a surface before applying it to bathrooms and kitchen counter tops. WARNING! Never, ever, mix vinegar with other chemical cleaning agents and especially not chlorine bleach.
On the other hand, I have used brown vinegar, the brewed malt vinegar, on counter tops neat with no problem and vinegar is especially good for use with wooden chopping board and such. Also, to remove burnt on food easily bout vinegar neat into the saucepan or baking dish, leave to sit for some hours and then put into hot soapy water to wash. The burnt in stuff now comes off without any effort.
Baking soda, aka Bicarbonate of Soda, can be used as a scrubber as well as a deodorizer – that’s why many call it the “multipurpose hero”. Lemon juice makes a great smelling cleaning paste when combined with baking soda, and breaks down hard water stains when combined with vinegar.
Bicarbonate of Soda, aka Baking Soda, mixed with a little salt (and it does not have to be sea salt), and adding a drop or two of tea tree oil, clove oil or mint oil, makes for a great tooth powder which work better than any toothpaste and only includes natural ingredients. Don't push hard when brushing, though. The stuff is abrasive.
Shower in cold water for your health and wealth. See article here...
This is but a small list of FREE ways to go green. I am sure you will find many more of your own, and why not share those with our readers...
© 2011
